Review: Bob’s Burgers ‘Purple Rain-Union’

Spoilers Below

As I continue getting older, people often ask me if I think I’ll attend my 10-year High School Reunion. Still a year-and-a-half off, the decision will probably depend on my life situation at the time. So far I weigh about the same, my hairline hasn’t changed much, and I’m not a divorcee, so I think the verdict will come down to my career at that juncture. Hopefully, this BubbleBlabber gig will stay strong, because nothing screams success like being a cartoon journalist… Right?

Speaking of reunions, that was the subject of last night’s Bob’s Burgers. Linda’s 25^th was approaching quickly, and she was invited to reunite & play with her high school all-girl rock band, The Ta-Tas. Unfortunately, Linda’s group wasn’t the first choice, but Bad Hair Day (the band that bested The Ta-Tas in the school’s talent show) was unavailable, and the party’s organizer was “desperate.”

Linda was initially hesitant to agree to play, wishing to avoid further embarrassment, but after some encouragement from the kids (“Don’t hide your Ta-tas under a bush.”) she eventually decided to play.

The kids, of course, were not allowed to go, creating an issue of their own. (Although Louise only wanted to go to see the “trainwreck,” as the Ta-tas are not – and never were – any good.) In addition, Tina was upset at not being allowed to babysit, taking it out on Jen, the appointed babysitter.

And oh yeah, I almost forgot about Bob. He reluctantly tagged along, although pessimistic about Linda’s performance, and self-conscious about a giant pimple that appeared on his nose.

At the reunion, Bad Hair Day ended up playing, taking the wind out of the Ta-Tas’ sails. After a pep talk from Jen the babysitter (who showed up with the kids) Linda decided to play anyway, just for the fun of it.

This episode was a whole lot of fun. The kids were great as they blackmailed Jen into giving them a ride to the reunion, after she accidentally punched Tina in the face. To cover up the accident, the foursome decided to give each other black eyes, as to take the focus of Tina, and the blame off of Jen. Tina, by the way, had some great passive-aggressive insults directed toward the rival babysitter.

I also enjoyed Bob getting drunk at the party, and being shut down when he tried to give Linda a morale boost (Linda: “I already got the inspirational speech from Jen”).

Gene was great too, as he pined over his Shim-Sham cookies and uttered the line: “Hello Mother, we’d like to give you a ride, but you look craaaaaaazy.

Despite being a generally funny episode, I found the Ta-Ta/Linda jokes to be a bit corny, and I think the episode missed out on some good opportunities for laughs. Sure, it was still silly, but the writing wasn’t as crisp and witty as the rest of the episode’s lines were.

Regardless, this was an entertaining and amusing installment, and a good effort for an episode that generally kept Bob as a supporting character, with Linda as the star.